Joint CRUK awards
Introduction
Prostate Cancer UK is committed to supporting innovative research of the highest scientific quality, by providing funding for researchers. We've partnered with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) to fund a number of awards for early career clinical academics throughout their career.
We're helping to fund the Clinician Scientist Fellowship and Predoctoral bursaries. These schemes help clinicians who have just started their training through to those that will soon complete it.
The details
Applications to the Clinician Scientist Fellowship are only open to clinicians, while the Predoctoral bursaries are open to nurses, allied health professionals and clinicians.
For specific details on the opportunities available, please see below.
Pre-doctoral bursaries
This bursary provides short-term funding to allow clinicians and other health professionals to get involved in research projects early in their career, giving them experience and skills in cancer research. This bursary will support you to obtain preliminary data before applying for PhD or MD fellowships.
By joining as a match-funding partner for the Pre-doctoral Research Bursary, we've increased the available funding to up to £50k over 12 months.
To be eligible for this funding you must be:
A clinician in training (foundation, core, speciality or run-through training)
A nurse
An allied health professional, for instance physiotherapist, radiographer, medical physicist or pharmacist
Eligible to complete your clinical training and practice medicine in the UK
Clinician Scientist Fellowship
This fellowship supports clinician scientists who have gained a higher research degree, have some postdoctoral experience and are ready to make the first step towards developing their own research niche.
To be eligible for this funding you must be a clinician who is:
Eligible to complete your training, practice medicine in the UK and hold GMC registration (or will hold, if currently practicing outside the UK)
Have a higher degree (MD/PhD)
Have a national training number (NTN or NTN(A)) with clear plans for obtaining your Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) by the end of your fellowship, or has already obtained your CCT or equivalent
Have the support of an appropriate research group and supervisor at an eligible UK university or research institute (or Cancer Research UK core-funded institute, provided you don’t receive core funding)
Can demonstrate that you meet the range of skills and experience outlined in the ‘Develop independence’ section of CRUK's competency framework
Joint funding
These awards offer the possibility of joint funding with us. Applications for joint funding should fit within the scope of our Research Strategy.
A joint-funded application may offer additional opportunities to report on your project, present your work at meetings and take part in professional networking. As an early career researcher, you’ll also be invited to our Making Progress and From Ideas to Innovation events which provide opportunities to establish future collaborations within the scientific community.
Timeline
Pre-doctoral bursaries
DEADLINE: 24 September 2026
REVIEW COMMITTEE: Nov 2026
Clinician Scientist Fellowship
DEADLINE: 1 Oct 2026
SHORTLISTING: Dec 2026
FULL APPLICATION DEADLINE: Feb 2027
INTERVIEW AND REVIEW COMMITTEE: May 2027
